Method of manufacturing a display plate and display apparatus

ABSTRACT

A primitive display plate includes a supporting portion having a positioning structure formed to be positioned by engagement with another member, a display plate shape portion formed to have a predetermined positional relation to the positioning structure and to have the planar shape of a display plate to be manufactured, and a connecting portion for integrally connecting the display plate shape portion and the supporting portion, and wherein an ink-receiving layer is formed on the surface of the display plate shape portion, for holding the received ink droplets thereby.

CONTINUING APPLICATION DATA

This application is a Divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.09/807,545, filed Apr. 12, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,599,613 which wasthe National Stage of International application No. PCT/JP00/05663,filed Aug. 23, 2000.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a primitive display plate and a methodof manufacturing a display plate, and a method of manufacturing adisplay apparatus, and particularly to a manufacturing techniquesuitable for manufacturing a timepiece dial.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, in manufacturing a wristwatch, a desired surface pattern(including numeric characters, characters, time scales, etc.) is formedin a predetermined design on the surface of a metal plate by coating,printing or surface treatment, and separated in a predetermined shape toform a dial. The dial is then attached to a timepiece movement, andfinally set in a watch case. As a method of forming the desired surfacepattern on the dial, pad printing, screen printing, offset printing, andthe like, which are described in Special Printing (written by KazuoMatsumoto, issued by Insatsu Shuppan Kenkyusho), Introduction to SpecialPrinting (written by Ichiro Ikeda, issued by Society of Printing,Editing Section), etc. are frequently used. In these printing methods, ablock copy is created by a photomechanical technique and is used foreach print color.

However, the conventional method of forming a dial is suitable forforming a great number of dials having a predetermined design, but inmulti-kind and small-quantity production, which has been recentlyincreasingly required, the method requires the creation of a plate ateach change of the design, thereby increasing the production cost andrequiring more time before the start of production. Thus it requires, atleast, about 1 to 2 weeks before the delivery date. Particularly, awatch provided with an original pattern has been recently increasinglyrequired. In this case, the number of the products is small enough tofurther increase the production cost per product, and delivery of awatch having a dial having a required pattern within a short time isvery difficult because more time is required for forming a plate.

In displaying a character on the dial, in some cases, many plates areneeded because five colors or more are required, thereby inevitablyincreasing the production cost and delaying the delivery date.Particularly, in printing after the formation of each of the dialshapes, more time is required for positioning a plurality of plates anda dial, and color matching, thereby requiring a skilled worker.

Furthermore, in printing on the dial, a general-purpose printingapparatus cannot be easily used, thus an expensive special machine isrequired, and an installation place for the special machine must besecured, causing the need for steps taken against noise and dust duringan operation of the machine. In addition, the printing step requires theuse of a printing ink using an organic solvent and a cleaning solution,thereby requiring environmental measures and safety and health measuresand creating heavy incidental equipment costs.

Accordingly, the present invention has been achieved for solving theabove problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide anovel primitive display plate, and methods of manufacturing a displayplate and a display apparatus, which are capable of rapidlymanufacturing a display plate having a surface pattern having a requireddesign and a display apparatus comprising the display plate as variousdisplay plates such as a watch dial, which are capable of minimizing anincrease in the manufacturing cost by a simple work process, and whichare capable of decreasing equipment cost.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

In order to achieve the object, a primitive display plate of the presentinvention comprises a supporting portion comprising a positioningstructure formed to be positioned by engagement with another member, adisplay plate shape portion formed to have a predetermined positionalrelation to the positioning structure and having the planar shape of adisplay plate to be manufactured, and a connecting portion forconnecting the display plate shape portion and the supporting portion,which are integrally provided, wherein an ink-receiving layer is formedon the surface of the display plate shape portion, for holding receivedink droplets thereby.

In the present invention, the supporting portion having the positioningstructure, and the display plate shape portion comprising theink-receiving layer provided on the surface thereof are connectedthrough the connecting portion to permit ink jet system printing inwhich ink droplets are ejected onto the display plate shape portion onthe basis of the positioning structure, and permit separation of adisplay plate by cutting the connecting portion after printing.Therefore, an appropriate print pattern can be formed on the surface ofthe display plate without using a plate, thereby permitting the rapidmanufacture of the display plate while minimizing an increase inmanufacturing cost even under conditions of multi-kind andsmall-quantity production. By using the primitive display plate,printing and cutting of the connecting portion can be carried out bygeneral-purpose small equipment without using a special largemanufacturing equipment, and thus the display plate can be manufacturedin an appropriate place, thereby rapidly and flexibly complying withdemands of customers.

In the present invention, the surface of the connecting portion ispreferably lower than the surface of the display plate shape portion.

In the present invention, since the surface of the connecting portion islower than the surface of the display plate shape portion, it ispossible to decrease damage such as a defect, peeling, swelling in aprinted pattern on the surface and a lower layer structure below theprinted pattern at the edge of the display plate shape portion even bycutting the connecting portion.

In the present invention, the ink-receiving layer is preferably notformed on the positioning structure.

In the present invention, since the ink-receiving layer is not formed onthe positioning structure, it is possible to decrease the possibility ofdeteriorating the engagement precision of the positioning structure dueto the thickness of the ink-receiving layer, thereby positioning thedisplay plate shape portion with high precision.

In the present invention, preferably, a coating layer is formed on thesurface of the display plate shape portion, and the ink-receiving layeris formed on the surface of the coating layer, the ink-receiving layerbeing transparent or semitransparent.

In the present invention, since the ink-receiving layer is formed on thecoating layer, and the ink-receiving layer is transparent orsemitransparent, the color tone, the texture, etc. of the coating layercan be observed through the ink-receiving layer, and thus the colortone, the texture, etc. of the printed pattern formed by adhering inkdroplets can be set in a wide range, thereby widening a variation ofappearance designs of the display plate, and increasing theexpressiveness of the display plate. Also, the surface of the coatinglayer can be formed with a color tone suitable for, for example,printing a white color (unpatterned) to improve the coloring property ofthe printed pattern and the reproducibility of the color tone, wherebythe color tone and pattern having high quality can be formed.

In the present invention, the positioning structure preferably comprisesa through hole formed in the supporting portion.

In the present invention, since the positioning portion comprises athrough hole, positioning can easily be performed with high precision bysimple positioning means such as a pin.

In the present invention, with the ink-receiving layer comprising aporous surface, in some cases, the ink-receiving layer comprises amaterial having high absorbency for the ink droplets.

The primitive display plate of the present invention is preferablyformed from a shaped substrate. By using the shaped substrate, i.e., thesubstrate having a predetermined outer shape, a common positioning jigor an apparatus having a common structure can be ordinarily used, andthus the display plate shape portion can be easily handled in theprinting step and the step of cutting the connecting portion, therebydecreasing the manufacturing cost.

A method of manufacturing a display plate of the present inventioncomprises: processing a primitive plate including a supporting portioncomprising a positioning structure formed to be positioned by engagementwith another member on the basis of the positioning portion to form adisplay plate shape portion having the planar shape of a display plateto be manufactured and a connecting portion for connecting the displayplate shape portion to the supporting portion; forming an ink-receivinglayer on the surface of the display plate shape portion; ejecting andadhering a plurality of ink droplets to the ink-receiving layer on thebasis of the positioning structure to form a surface patterncorresponding to a desired image pattern; and cutting the connectingportion to separate the display plate.

In the present invention, the ink-receiving layer is preferably notformed on the positioning structure.

In the present invention, the surface of the connecting portion ispreferably lower than the display plate shape portion.

In the present invention, the image pattern is preferably input to acomputer or stored in the computer, output data is formed withcorrespondence between electronic data corresponding to the imagepattern and the position data corresponding to the display plate shapeportion to transmit the output data from the computer to an ink jetprinting apparatus which can print a predetermined pattern by ejectingthe ink droplets and which can perform positioning by engagement withthe positioning structure so that the ink jet printing apparatus isdriven according to the output data to form the surface pattern on thedisplay plate shape portion with the positioning structure engaged withthe positioning portion.

In the present invention, an appropriate image pattern can be printed onthe display plate shape portion according to the desire of amanufacturer or a customer by the ink jet printing apparatus withoutusing a conventional plate, whereby an increase in the manufacturingcost can be prevented even in small-quantity production, and the displayplate can be rapidly manufactured with the desired printed pattern. Inaddition, the printed pattern is positioned relative to the displayplate shape portion by using the position data input from the computer,and thus a positioning work can easily be carried out during printingonly by engaging the positioning structure with the positioning portionof the ink jet printing apparatus, thereby avoiding complexity of thework.

In the present invention, position and shape data of the display plateshape portion is preferably input to the computer or stored in thecomputer so that the image data is superposed on the display plate shapedisplayed on the basis of the position and shape data to form theposition data in correspondence with the electronic data correspondingto the image pattern.

In the present invention, the position data of the image pattern can beformed by superposing the desired image pattern on the position andshape data, and thus the printed pattern corresponding to the imagepattern can be formed in the desired size at the desired positionaccording to the desire of the worker in the manual method ofsuperposing both patterns, and formed in the desired size at the desiredposition previously set under predetermined conditions in the automaticmethod of superposing both patterns. Furthermore, printing can beperformed after the superposed state is recognized, and thus thefinished state can be previously estimated, thereby manufacturing adisplay plate according to demand.

In the present invention, a first image component and a second imagecomponent, which are separately obtained or formed, are preferablysuperposed and synthesized by the computer to form the image pattern.

In the present invention, since an original image pattern of the printedpattern of the display plate is formed by superposing and synthesizingthe first image component and the second image component using thecomputer, one or a plurality of shaped patterns can be superposed on anyother desired pattern to easily edit the printed pattern of the displayplate. For example, in manufacturing a timepiece dial as the displayplate, a functional pattern comprising numerical characters for timedisplay, other characters, scales, logos, etc. is previously set as theshaped pattern, and a decorative pattern comprising a picture or thelike as any desired pattern is superposed on the shaped pattern so thatthe printed pattern of the dial can be formed by a simple operation.

In the present invention, preferably, the position and shape data of thedisplay plate shape portion is input to or stored in the computer, andthe first image component and the second image component are superposedon and synthesized with the display plate shape formed based on theposition and shape data to form the image pattern and the position datain correspondence with the electronic data corresponding to the imagepattern.

A method of manufacturing a display apparatus of the present inventioncomprises: forming a display plate by the method of manufacturing adisplay plate; and incorporating the display plate in an apparatus.

In this case, preferably, the steps for the formation of theink-receiving layer on the primitive plate are carried out in amanufacturing place such as a factory, and the primitive plate istransferred to a sales base such as a sales center or a store so thatthe image pattern is formed or selected in the sales base, and printingis also performed in the sales base.

A primitive display plate of the present invention has theabove-described construction and is used as a timepiece dial.

A primitive display plate of the present invention has theabove-described construction and is used as a date dial of a timepiece.

A primitive display plate of the present invention has theabove-described construction and is used as a day-of-week dial of atimepiece.

In the present invention, the timepiece dial, the date dial permittingdisplay of dates through a window provided on the dial, or theday-of-week dial permitting display of day of the week through thewindow provided on the dial is formed by using the primitive displayplate having the above construction to permit the formation of anappropriate printed pattern on the surface of the watch display platewithout using a conventional plate, whereby the watch dial, the datedial of a watch, or the day-of-week dial of a watch can be easily andrapidly manufactured while keeping down the manufacturing cost evenunder conditions of multi-kind and small-quality production.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1(a) to (d) are plan views of a primitive display plate and astate in which ink-jet printing is performed on the primitive displayplate, illustrating the steps of a process for manufacturing a primitivedisplay plate in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2(a) to (d) are sectional views of a primitive display plate and astate in which ink-jet printing is performed on the primitive displayplate, illustrating the steps of the process for manufacturing aprimitive display plate in accordance with the same embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the schematic structureof a printing apparatus for ink jet printing.

FIGS. 4(a) and (b) are schematic block diagrams illustrating thecomponents as examples for manufacturing a wristwatch using theprimitive display plate of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing schematically showing an editing screen inediting step 1 for forming printing data in accordance with theembodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic drawing schematically showing an editing screen inediting step 2 for forming printing data in accordance with theembodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic drawing schematically showing an editing screen inediting step 3 for forming printing data in accordance with theembodiment.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A primitive display plate, a method of manufacturing a display plate,and a method of manufacturing a display apparatus in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention will be described in detail belowwith reference to the attached drawings.

FIGS. 1(a), (b) and (c) are drawings illustrating the steps formanufacturing a primitive display plate in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention, FIG. 1(d) is a drawing illustrating the statein which printing is performed on the primitive display plate for awatch dial, and FIGS. 2(a) to (d) are sectional views illustrating thesteps corresponding to FIGS. 1(a) to (d), respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 2(a), positioning pilot holes 11 are formedat predetermined positions, preferably in the periphery of a shapedsubstrate 10. The shaped substrate 10 can be formed by using any desiredmaterial, for example, various metal plates of aluminum, stainlesssteel, brass, nickel silver, and the like, hard plastic plates, ceramicplates. As shown in the drawings, the planar shape of the shapedsubstrate 10 is preferably a substantially rectangular shape in order toimprove the handling property and positioning property. For example, thesubstrate generally has a 40-mm square shape having a thickness of about0.35 mm. The pilot holes 11 constitute a positioning structure forpositioning the shaped substrate 10, and preferably comprise a pluralityof holes. In this embodiment, a pair of the pilot holes 11 is formed atthe diagonal positions in the marginal portion of the shaped substrate10. The pilot holes 11 are easily be formed by, for example, pressstamping.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 2(b), in some cases, support legs 15 areattached to the central portion of the back of the shaped substrate 10to project therefrom, for fixing a watch dial to the base plate of amovement which will be described later. The support legs 15 are insertedinto mounting holes, which are not shown in the drawings and formedbased on the formation positions of the pilot holes 11, and fixed toproject from the back of the shaped substrate 10 by a method such aspoint welding. In a case in which another engagement structure isprovided for fixing the watch dial described below to the movement (forexample, when an adhesive layer is provided on the back), the supportlegs 15 need not be provided.

Next, predetermined processes are carried out on the shaped substrate 10on the basis of the formation positions of the pilot holes 11. One ofthe processes comprises forming circular-arc slits 10 a and 10 b in thecentral portion of the shaped substrate 10 to form a display plate shapeportion 12 corresponding to the planar shape of the watch dial, as shownin FIG. 1(b). The display plate shape portion 12 is connected to asupporting portion 13 including the pilot holes 11 by tie bars 14serving as connecting portions. In this embodiment, in order tointegrally and securely connect the display plate shape portion 12 andthe supporting portion 13, a plurality of the tie bars 14 are preferablyprovided by forming a plurality of circular-arc slits in the shapedsubstrate 10. In the example shown in the drawings, the circular-arcslits 10 a and 10 b are formed to have a central angle of about 180degrees, and a pair of the tie bars 14 are consequently provided atdiagonal positions on the periphery of the display plate shape portion12.

The tie bars 14 are then subjected to surface processing such as cuttingor the like so that the surface positions thereof are lower than thesurface of the display plate shape portion 12 by a step, as shown inFIG. 2(b). This processing is also carried out on the basis of theformation positions of the pilot holes 11. In the example shown in thedrawings, steps are formed between the surfaces of the tie bars 14 andthe surfaces of the display plate shape portion 12 and the supportingportion 13.

Then, in order to improve corrosion resistance or the appearance of thewatch dial, a coating layer 16 is formed on the surface of the shapedsubstrate 10 by plating or coating. For example, as the coating layer16, an anti-corrosion plated layer (for example, Ni—P electrolessplating or electroplating) is formed to a thickness of 1 μm on thesurface of the shaped substrate 10, and then a decorative plated layer(for example, silver electroless plating or electroplating) is formed onthe anti-corrosion layer, and a transparent coating material such asacrylic clear lacquer is coated to form a transparent coating (forprotecting the decorative plated layer). Alternatively, as the coatinglayer 16, the anti-corrosion plated layer may be formed according todemand, and then an acrylic melanine white coating material may becoated to form a white coating. By forming the white coating, a base forink jet printing, which will be describe later, can be whitened, and acolor tone having good printability can be obtained. In any case, wherethe shaped substrate 10 comprises an anti-corrosion material (aluminum,stainless steel, or the like), the anti-corrosion plated layer need notbe provided, and an appropriate base layer may be formed for improvingadhesion (or peeling resistance) of the coating layer 16 to the shapedsubstrate 10.

Next, an ink-receiving layer 17 shown in FIG. 1(c) and FIG. 2(c) isformed on the surface of the display plate shape portion 12. FIG. 1(c)shows the formation region of the ink-receiving layer 17 by shadowing.As the ink-receiving layer 17, a porous layer or a water absorptionlayer comprising an inorganic compound or an organic compound can beused.

For example, an organometallic compound such as tetraethyl silicate,triisopropoxyaluminum is dissolved in water or alcohol-containing waterto form a sol solution by hydrolysis, and the thus-formed sol solutionis coated on the surface of the display plate shape portion 12, dried,and then burned to form the ink-receiving layer 17 having a poroussurface. In this case, by adding an oxide fine powder of silicon oxideor the like to the sol solution, pores can be efficiently formed in theporous surface.

Alternatively, inorganic particles are dispersed in a solution formed bydissolving a water-soluble polymer in water or alcohol-containing waterto form a suspension, and the thus-formed suspension is coated and thendried to form the ink-receiving layer 17. In this case, as thewater-soluble polymer, starch, gelatin, gum arabic, sodium alginate,carboxymethyl cellulose, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone,sodium polyacrylate, polyacrylamide, polyurethane, polyester, polyvinylacetal, or the like can be used. As the inorganic particles, silica,calcium sulfate, clay, diatomaceous earth, calcium carbonate, bariumsulfate, titanium oxide, zinc oxide, titanium white, aluminum silicate,magnesium silicate, magnesium hydroxide, lithopone, alumina, zeolite,colloidal silica, colloidal alumina, or the like can be used.

In a case in which the above-described coating layer 16 is not formed,the surface of the shaped substrate 10 may be made porous by surfacetreatment with an appropriate chemical solution or electrolytic action,or in a case in which the coating layer 16 is formed, the coating layer16 may be made porous by the same treatment. The surface of an aluminumsubstrate can be made porous by any of various methods using anelectrolyte. For example, the substrate can be electrolyzed in asulfuric acid solution using a platinum electrode as a counter electrodeto obtain a fine porous surface. In this case, the ink-receiving layer17 is formed as a surface layer of the shaped substrate 10 or of thecoating layer 16.

In this embodiment, the ink-receiving layer 17 is exclusively formedonly on the surface of the display plate shape portion 12. Therefore, itis possible to prevent the dimensions of the pilot holes 11 formed inthe supporting portion 13 from being changed by adhesion of theink-receiving layer 17, or surface treatment for forming theink-receiving layer 17, thereby avoiding deterioration in the precisionof positioning by the pilot holes 11. This is because the fact that informing the ink-receiving layer 17 by coating, the ink-receiving layer17 is generally coated to a thickness of as large as about 40 to 80 μm,which may significantly deteriorate the precise shape of the pilot holes11 if the ink-receiving layer 17 is also formed at the opening edges ofthe pilot holes 11. Although, in the embodiment shown in the drawings,the ink-receiving layer 17 is exclusively formed only on the surface ofthe display plate shape portion 12, the ink-receiving layer 17 may beformed except in the vicinities (the opening edges) of the pilot holes11 in the supporting portion 13, i.e., on the portions of the surfacesof the display plate shape portion 12, the tie bars 14, and thesupporting portion 13 except the opening edges of the pilot holes 11. Asthe method of partially forming the ink-receiving layer 17 as describedabove, screen printing can be used.

Since the ink-receiving layer 17 can be formed as a transparent orsemitransparent film, the coating layer 16 formed below theink-receiving layer 17 can be used as a color tone base for ink-jetprinting which will be described below. As a material for forming thetransparent or semitransparent film (the ink-receiving layer 17), forexample, an aqueous solution of sodium polyacrylate in which magnesiumsilicate is dispersed, a coating solution formed by adding polyvinylalcohol and water to an alumina sol, or the like can be used. In thiscase, the coating layer 16 is formed to have a white surface so that thesame good color tone as that obtained by ink-jet printing on white paperdescribed below can be obtained.

The primitive display plate (the shaped substrate 10) shown in FIGS.1(c) and 2(c), which is formed as described above, comprises the pilotholes 11 serving as the positioning structure for positioning theprimitive plate itself, and the display plate shape portion 12 formed atthe predetermined position based on the pilot holes 11, and furthercomprises the ink-receiving layer 17 formed on the surface of thedisplay plate shape portion 12. The pilot holes 11 facilitatepositioning of the shaped substrate 10 and the display plate shapeportion 12, and the presence of the ink-receiving layer 17 permits anappropriate printing system (simply referred to as “ink-jet printing”hereinafter) in which, like in printing on the surface of theink-receiving layer 17 by using an ink jet printer, ink droplets areejected to form a pattern. FIGS. 1(d) and 2(d) show the state in which aprinted layer 18 is formed on the surface of the ink-receiving layer 17by the ink-jet printing. The printed layer 18 may be formed on a portionof the surface of the display plate shape portion 12, formed over theentire surface thereof, or formed to extend from the surface of thedisplay plate shape portion 12 to the surfaces of the tie bars 14 andthe supporting portion 13. After the ink-jet printing, the tie bars 14are cut by means of a simple tool such as a nipper or the like toseparate the display plate shape portion 12 from the supporting portion13.

FIG. 3 is a drawing schematically illustrating the schematic structureof an ink jet system printing apparatus 30 such as an ink jet printer.In the use of the printing apparatus 30, a positioning jig 32 is fixedon a sheet 31 comprising, for example, predetermined paper, by a bondingmethod or the like, and positioning pins 32 a provided on thepositioning jig 32 are inserted into the pilot holes 11 to position theshaped substrate 10 on the positioning jig 32. The printing apparatus 30further comprises a feed mechanism 33 including feed rollers for feedingthe sheet 31 in the direction of arrow F. On the other hand, an ink jethead 34 which can be moved in the direction of arrow G by a head drivingmechanism 35 is arranged above the feed mechanism 33. The ink jet head34 is a known one in which the volume of an ink chamber, not shown inthe drawing, provided in the ink jet head 34 is reduced by, for example,deformation of an electrically driven piezo element to eject a part ofthe ink supplied to the ink chamber as ink droplets through a dischargenozzle, not shown in the drawing. One or a plurality of the ink chambersand the discharge nozzles corresponding to the chambers are provided,and particularly in color printing, a plurality of inks (for example,cyan, magenta, yellow, black) having color tones are supplied to therespective ink chambers so that ink droplets having a desired color tonecan be appropriately discharged from the corresponding nozzle accordingto the print pattern.

In the case shown in FIG. 3, in the ink-jet printing, the printingposition is set by detecting the position of the sheet 31 by an opticalsensor of the printing apparatus 30 not shown in the drawing so that thefeed mechanism 33 and the head driving mechanism 35 are operatedaccording to the printing position to discharge ink droplets to thesurface of the display plate shape portion 12. At this time, the shapedsubstrate 10 is positioned relative to the positioning jig 32 byengagement between the pilot holes 11 and the positioning pins 32 a.Since the positioning jig 32 is fixed at the predetermined positionrelative to the sheet 31, the ink-jet printing is carried out with thedisplay plate shape portion 12 positioned indirectly by the positioningjig 32 and the sheet 31. In this case, the positions of the pilot holes11 of the shaped substrate 10 may be grasped by recognizing an imageinput to an imaging device such as a CCD camera so that the feedmechanism 33 and the head driving mechanism 35 of the printing apparatus30 are driven according to the data about the position.

Although ink in which any of various known dyes or pigments is dispersedcan be used as an ink in the ink-jet printing, an ink in which a pigmentis dispersed for improving the coloring property and the lightresistance of a print pattern is preferably used as the ink for thewatch dial or other dials. There are various inorganic pigments, organicpigments, etc. Examples of inorganic pigments include titanium oxide,iron oxide, and carbon black. Examples of organic pigments include azopigments (azo lake, insoluble azo pigments, condensed azo pigments,chelate azo pigments, and the like), polycyclic pigments (for example,phthalocyanine pigments, perylene pigments, anthraquinone pigments,quinacridon pigments, dioxazine pigments, thioindigo pigments,isoindolinone pigments, quinofuran pigments), dye chelates (for example,basic dye type chelates, acid dye type chelates), nitro pigments,nitroso pigments, aniline black, and the like.

Any one of the above pigments is preferably added as a pigment dispersedsolution to the ink, the dispersed solution being obtained by dispersingin an aqueous medium using a dispersant or a surfactant. As a preferredexample of the dispersant, a conventional dispersant used for preparinga pigment dispersed solution, for example, a polymer dispersant can beused. The amount of the pigment added to the ink is preferably about0.5% by weight to 25% by weight, and more preferably 2% by weight to 15%by weight. A pigment ink composition can be generally produced by addingpredetermined amounts of a pigment, the dispersant, a solvent forimparting a moisturizing function, and mixing the resultant mixture by adispersing machine such as a ball mill.

The above-described ink containing the pigment is printed on the surfaceof the ink-receiving layer 17 by the ink-jet printing to securelymaintain the ink droplets at the adhesion positions, thereby obtainingexcellent ink fixing properties (resistance to color blurring and inkseparation) without deteriorating the color of the pigment. It is thuspossible to form a good surface pattern, and obtain sufficient lightresistance as a dial such as a watch dial.

After the ink-jet printing, the printed surface of the display plateshape portion 12 is preferably coated with a protecting film havinglight transmittance. The protecting film may be a film obtained bycoating clear lacquer or the like on the display plate shape portion 12,or a light transmissive film previously formed and adhered to theprinted surface. Also, the protecting film may be not completelytransparent, and like a semitransparent plate or scatter plate, theprotecting film may function to partially inhibit the travel of light.As a transparent coating material for forming the protecting film, anacrylic or cellulose clear lacquer, or the like can be used. Since theprotecting film can improve the sealing performance for the printedsurface, deterioration, discoloration, moisture absorption, etc. of theprinted surface and a lower layer can be prevented.

Also, the surface of the display plate shape portion 12 may be subjectedto additional surface treatment for display or decoration before orafter the above-described step of forming the printed layer 18. In suchsurface treatment, in some cases, a member comprising display scales,numerical characters, characters, and other patterns, or a decorativemember is fixed by adhesion, bonding, welding or the like. For example,a member comprising a conductor is formed in a predetermined planarpattern by electrodeposition, and held on a supporting sheet so that themember can be transferred to the surface of the display plate shapeportion from the supporting sheet.

Furthermore, an adhesive layer is preferably formed on the back of thedisplay plate shape portion 12, for adhering the display plate shapeportion 12 to another member (for example, a movement of a watch), andthe adhesive layer is preferably coated with a separating sheet. In thiscase, the separating sheet is separated from the manufactured dial sothat it can easily be adhered to another member. The adhesive layer canbe formed by using a known pressure-sensitive adhesive.

Next, the above-described ink-jet printing is carried out, and thedisplay plate shape portion 12 on which the protecting film is formedaccording to demand is separated from the supporting portion 13 bycutting the tie bars 14 to obtain a watch dial. The tie bars 14 can besimply cut by using a tool such as a nipper.

Since the tie bars 14 are formed so that the surfaces thereof are lowerthan the surface of the display plate shape portion 12, no cut surfaceis formed on the surface side at the edge of the display plate shapeportion 12, thereby preventing cutting damage (chipping, cracking,swelling, peeling, or the like) to the surface side portion at the edgeof the display plate shape portion 12, thus hiding the raw materialtexture (the exposed portion of the raw material constituting the shapedsubstrate 10) of the display plate shape portion 12, which appears inthe cut surface. In this case, since the surfaces of the tie bars 14 arelower than the surface of the display plate shape portion 12, any one ofthe coating layer 16, the ink-receiving layer 17, and the printed layer18 can be formed to coat the outer edge side of the display plate shapeportion 12 even at the edge of the display plate shape portion 12connected to the tie bars 14, as shown in FIG. 2. In this case, the rawmaterial of the shaped substrate 10 can be hidden at the edge of thewatch dial after separation.

Although, in the above embodiment, the tie bars 14 are formed at the twodiagonal positions on the periphery of the display plate shape portion12, the tie bars 14 may be formed at three or more appropriatepositions. By forming the tie bars 14 at a plurality of positions, thedisplay plate shape portion 12 can stably remain connected to thesupporting portion 13.

Next, the method of manufacturing a display apparatus (for example, awatch (wristwatch)) including the dial by using the primitive displayplate (the shaped substrate 10) will be described in detail below. Thismanufacturing method comprises ink-jet printing on the display plateshape portion 12 of the primitive display plate, cutting the tie bars 14to separate the dial, and then incorporating the dial into a displaydevice to complete the display apparatus.

In accordance with an embodiment, the manufacturing method comprisesforming the primitive display plate in the manufacturing place, movingthe primitive display plate to a sales place together with the displayapparatus before the dial is incorporated, or components of the displayapparatus, appropriately IJ-printing on the display plate shape portion12 in the sales place according to customer's demands, separating thedial in the sales place, and incorporating the dial into the displayapparatus (or assembling the display apparatus using the dial and othercomponents). In this case, only the primitive display plate ismanufactured in the manufacturing place (a factory or the like), and anappropriate pattern can be formed on the display plate shape portion 12in the sales place (a business point, a store, or the like) according tocustomer's demands to complete the display apparatus in the sales place.Therefore, it is possible to rapidly comply with the demands ofcustomers, and minimize an increase in the manufacturing cost even inmulti-kind and small-quantity production.

In this case, if data about the positional relation between thepositioning structure such as the pilot holes 11 and the display plateshape portion 12 is input from the manufacturing place, printing can becarried out in the sales place while positioning the display plate shapeportion by the positioning structure based on the positional relationdata. Therefore, even when the size and shape of the dial are changed,or there are many kinds of sizes and shapes of dials, complicatedcalculation for positioning and a complicated positioning work processcan be avoided. In this case, the outer shape (i.e., the outer shape ofthe shaped substrate 10) of the primitive display plate is preferablykept constant to facilitate handling in the sales place. In the presentinvention, the outer shape of the primitive display plate need not bekept constant as long as the positional relation between the positioningstructure and the display plate shape portion is known.

As shown in FIG. 4, in manufacturing a wristwatch, a primitive displayplate 110 or 120 is manufactured from the shaped substrate 10 in themanufacturing place, and transferred to the sales place together withother components of the wristwatch, such as a watch case 211 (preferablypreviously incorporated into a case body 2110 by the method of pressinga window member 2111 through a plastic packing 2112 or the like in thesame manufacturing place or a different manufacturing place), a movement212, a case ring 213, a packing 214, a back cover 215, a crown with awinding stem 216, and a hand 217 (in the case of a practical usewristwatch), a watch case 221, a movement 222, a case ring 223, apacking 224, a back cover 225, a crown with a winding stem 226, and ahand 227 (in the case of a fashion wristwatch).

In the sales place, the ink-jet printing is carried out on the displayplate shape portion 112 or 122 while positioning it relative to theprimitive display plate 110 or 120 based on the positioning structure111 or 121, and then the protecting film is formed, and a display memberor decorative member is attached according to demand, followed byseparation of the display plate shape portion 112 or 122 to form a dial.Then, each of the dials is assembled with other components to complete awristwatch. This assembly comprises, for example, mounting the dial tothe movement 212 or 222, attaching a hand 217 or 227 at the handmounting portion (not shown) projecting from the movement 212 or 222through the central hole 10 c (FIG. 2) of the dial, incorporating theassembly into the watch case 211 or 221 together with the case ring 213or 223, and then mounting the back cover 215 or 225 through the packing214 or 224.

In the above-describe method, in the sales place, an appropriate patternis printed on the display plate shape portion by ink-jet printingaccording to the demands of customers. In this case, the pattern(including characters, symbols, any other planar shape) may be broughtinto from the customer, or appropriately selected from a plurality ofpreviously set patterns by the customer or the worker in the salesplace.

The procedure for printing the pattern by the ink-jet printing will bedescribed below. When the pattern is not computerized (not convertedinto electronic data which can be read by a computer), the patternbrought into or selected as described above is converted into electronicdata by image input means such as a scanner or a digital camera (CCDcamera), and when the pattern is previously converted into electronicdata, the data is input as a decorative image pattern to a computer. Inthis case, a display device (CRT, a liquid crystal display, or the like)is connected to the computer so that a display area A is set in thedisplay device, for editing the print pattern of the dial in the form,for example, shown in FIG. 5.

In the computer, a display plate shape pattern (i.e., the planar shapepattern of a dial to be formed) G1, which indicates the planar shape ofthe display plate shape portion 112 or 122, is previously stored aselectronic data. The display plate shape pattern G1 includes, forexample, the outer shape of a dial to be formed, and the shape of acentral hole thereof. Particularly, in the use of a plurality of displayplate shapes, as shown in FIG. 5, necessary data can be selected fromelectronic data about a plurality of the display plate shapes by anappropriate operation (for example, selecting any one from optionsdisplayed in operation region B which can be displayed in the displayarea A). In this embodiment, the selected display plate shape pattern G1is displayed on the screen of the display device, as shown in FIG. 5. Atthis time, predetermined position information which is set so that thedisplay plate shape pattern G1 displayed on the display screen agreeswith the position of the display plate shape portion 12 fixed on thepositioning jig 32 shown in FIG. 3 is prepared as position informationdata attached to the electronic data of the display plate shape patternG1 or another position information file corresponding to a file of theelectronic data.

In the computer, one or a plurality of electronic data about a shapedimage pattern (for example, a character, scales, or a shaped pattern tobe printed) G2 to be printed on the dial is previously stored, andparticularly a plurality of data are stored so that the electronic dataof the shaped image pattern G2 is selected by an appropriate operation(for example, by selecting any one from the options displayed inoperation region C which can be displayed in the display area A). Theselected shaped image pattern G2 can be appropriately superposed on thedisplay plate shape pattern G1 displayed on the display screen.

At the same time, preferably, the size and positioning position of theshaped image pattern G2 can be automatically set in correspondence withthe size and shape of the display plate shape pattern G1. For example,the shaped image pattern G2, i.e., the pattern magnification, iscalculated according to the pattern size of the display plate shapepattern G1 to correct the size (for example, obtained by a file size ordimensional data previously stored as additional information in a file)of the pattern, and the positioning position of the shaped image patternG2 is calculated in accordance with the pattern size of the displayplate shape pattern G1 to perform positioning. Alternatively,positioning is performed so that a predetermined position (for example,the origin or center) of the shaped image pattern G2 agrees with thecorresponding position (the origin or center) of the display plate shapepattern G1, whereby the shaped image pattern G2 can be automaticallysuperposed on the display plate shape pattern G1.

The display plate shape pattern G1 and the shaped image pattern G2 maybe previously formed as an integral display plate shape pattern. In thiscase, a plurality of patterns are preferably previously prepared bycombinations of the display plate shape and shaped image patterns sothat any one can be selected therefrom.

Next, the decorative image pattern G3 prepared as described above issuperposed on the display plate shape pattern G1 and the shaped imagepattern G2, as shown in FIG. 7. For the decorative image pattern G3, aplurality of data are preferably stored so that the electronic data ofany one of the plurality of the decorative image patterns G3 is selectedby another appropriate operation (for example, by selecting any one fromthe options displayed in operation region D which can be displayed inthe display area A), and the selected decorative image pattern G3 can beappropriately superposed on the display plate shape pattern G1 and theshaped image pattern G2. The superposing work is preferably performed byfreely controlling the size and position of the decorative image patternG3. However, particularly, the size and position of the decorative imagepattern G3 can be automatically determined according to the size andposition of the display plate shape pattern G1 and the shaped imagepattern G2 in the same manner as described above.

The synthetic image pattern obtained by superposing the shaped imagepattern G2 and the decorative image pattern G3 on the display plateshape pattern G1 as described above is stored as electronic data in thecomputer, or converted into print data and transmitted to the printingapparatus 30 shown in FIG. 3 without any processing. The print datatransmitted to the printing apparatus 30 includes pattern datacorresponding to the pattern contents of the synthetic image pattern,and position information data (generally the same as the positioninformation of the display plate shape pattern G1) which indicates theposition of the synthetic image pattern. The synthetic image pattern isprinted by the printing apparatus 30 based on the print data accordingto the position of the actual display plate shape portion.

The primitive display plate, and the methods of manufacturing a displayplate and a display device of the present invention are not limited tothe above-described example (embodiment) shown in the drawings, and, ofcourse, various changes can be made in the scope of the gist of thepresent invention.

Although, in the embodiment, a watch dial and a wristwatch comprisingthe dial are described as a typical example, the present invention canalso be applied to display plates provided on decorative members andaccessories, and display plates provided on display areas of variousdisplay devices. Also, the display device is not limited to a wristwatchand other watches; the present invention can also be applied to variousmeasurement apparatuses, electronic apparatuses, mechanical apparatusesand devices, etc. Of course, the present invention can also be appliedto a watch dial, a date dial for displaying dates through a windowprovided on the dial of a watch, as well as a day-of-week dial fordisplaying day of week.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described above, according to the present invention, a supportingportion comprising a positioning structure and a display plate shapeportion comprising an ink-receiving layer provided on the surfacethereof are integrally connected through a connecting portion to permitink jet system printing in which ink droplets are ejected onto thedisplay plate shape portion based on the positioning structure so thatthe display plate can be separated by cutting the connecting portionafter printing. Therefore, an appropriate print pattern can be formed onthe surface of the display plate without using a plate, therebypermitting the rapid manufacture of a display plate while keeping downthe manufacturing cost even under conditions of multi-kindsmall-quantity production. By using the primitive display plate,printing and cutting of the connection portion can be performed bygeneral-purpose small equipment without using special largemanufacturing equipment. Therefore, a display plate can be manufacturedin an appropriate place, thereby rapidly and flexibly complying with thedemands of customers.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of manufacturing a display platecomprising the steps of: processing a primitive plate to form asupporting portion having a positioning structure, a display plate shapeportion having a planar shape, and a connecting portion for connectingthe display plate shape portion to the supporting portion; forming anink-receiving layer on the surface of the display plate shape portion;ejecting and adhering a plurality of ink droplets onto the ink-receivinglayer based on the positioning structure to form a surface patterncorresponding to a desired image pattern; and cutting the connectingportion to separate the display plate.
 2. A method of manufacturing adisplay plate according to claim 1, wherein the ink-receiving layer isformed exclusive of the positioning structure.
 3. A method ofmanufacturing a display plate according to claim 1, wherein a topsurface of the connecting portion is formed lower than a top surface ofthe display plate shape portion.
 4. A method of manufacturing a displayplate according to claim 1, further comprising inputting the imagepattern into a computer or storing the image pattern in a computer,outputting from the computer output data corresponding to the imagepattern and position data corresponding to the display plate shapeportion, transmitting the output data from the computer to an ink jetprinting apparatus, positioning the primitive plate in the ink jetprinting apparatus by engagement of a positioning portion with thepositioning structure, driving the ink jet printing apparatus accordingto the output data to print a predetermined pattern by ejecting inkdroplets to form the surface pattern on the display plate shape portionwhile the positioning structure is engaged with the positioning portion.5. A method of manufacturing a display plate according to claim 1,further comprising inputting position and shape data of the displayplate shape portion into the computer or storing position and shape datain the computer, and superposing the image pattern on a display plateshape on the basis of the position and shape data.
 6. A method ofmanufacturing a display plate according to claim 1, further comprisinginputting into the computer or storing in the computer a first imagecomponent and a second image component, and superposing and synthesizingthe first image component and the second image component using thecomputer to form the image pattern.
 7. A method of manufacturing adisplay plate according to claim 6, further comprising inputtingposition and shape data of the display plate shape portion into thecomputer or storing position and shape data in the computer, andsuperposing the first image component and the second image component ona display plate shape on the basis of the position and shape data toform the image pattern.
 8. A method of manufacturing a display apparatuscomprising: forming a display plate comprising the steps of: processinga primitive plate to form a supporting portion having a positioningstructure, a display plate shape portion having a planar shape, and aconnecting portion for connecting the display plate shape portion to thesupporting portion; forming an ink-receiving layer on the surface of thedisplay plate shape portion; ejecting and adhering a plurality of inkdroplets onto the ink-receiving layer based on the positioning structureto form a surface pattern corresponding to a desired image pattern; andcutting the connecting portion to separate the display plate; andincorporating the display plate in an apparatus.